WIFE SWAP - Magicians vs muggles

The Martin-Portola family are a crew of free spirited magicians from Ohio.  High priority: performing magic, having fun  Low priority: obsessive cleaning, chores.

The well groomed Galvan family of California live in a spotless house where the kids have many duties.  High priority:  obsessive cleaning, chores  Low priority:  performing magic, having fun.

Yeah, these folks are going to get along really well.

This clash between order and chaos was unusually contentious, even for Wife Swap.  In the end, one of the wives dropped out in frustration before the two weeks were up.  But who?

Here's a hint:  Jennifer Galvan is a highly driven wedding and event planner who applies the same attention to microdetail and laser focus she uses at work to her home life as well.  Her kids have chores, and then they have more chores.  Her house is kept spotless and perfect at all times - seriously, it looks like you could eat off her floors. 

You would not want to eat off the floor at the Martin-Portola house.  This is a family whose focus is on having fun and performing magic - dishes and laundry are way down on the list of things to do.  Jennifer is shocked by the state of things and cannot wait for the rules change.

She's also shocked about the level of freedom that Melissa and her magical husband Andrew give their two kids, who often perform magic tricks for passerby on the sidewalk.  When the rules change does come and Jennifer is free to impose her will upon the chaos at the Martin-Portola family, she has a picket safety fence installed in the front yard to keep the kids safe.

This doesn't sit right with magic Andrew, who has been chafing under Jennifer's restrictive and non-fun new rules.  Things get a little crazy when Andrew, in a fit of theatrical rage, gets in his car and smashes the new fence down right in front of Jennifer.

She leaves shortly after that.  Jennifer spends the rest of the time in a hotel rather than subject herself to Andrew, who it must be said is pretty intensely zany.  Not everybody can take that much zaniness.

Melissa Martin-Portola struggles to infuse a little sense of fun and family time into the Galvan house, but her relationship with her temp husband Richard isn't nearly as explosive, so she ends up making some headway.

In the end, despite Jennifer leaving the swap early, both families seem to have learned a little from the swap.  Jennifer is spending a little less time on cleaning and more time with her kids, and the Martin-Portolas seem to have realized that there's a certain magic in doing dishes, too.

--Dave Campbell